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March 9, 2012

I lost 4 pounds this week, for a total loss of 154 pounds. I'm not all that shocked, as I logged more exercise the past few days than I did for the whole three weeks that I didn't have a bike. I'm certain that the huge loss is due to the spike in activity level.

It feels good to have lost two weeks in a row.

It feels really great to be able to record my lowest weigh-in since (yikes) the first week of August.

It feels amazing to be this close to the 180s, a new and important decade - at 185 pounds, I am no longer obese per the BMI, "only" overweight. A huge milestone, overweight means between a BMI 25 and 29.9; I started at 55.7.

Best of all, it feels fantastic to be in control of my eating again. I took a few rest days this week to catch up on work and sleep, and still lost a good amount of weight. I owe this entirely to having balanced eating. I didn't go out and bike 2+ hours a day to undo bad eating, and I didn't use great workouts to justify poor eating. I've been eating well, and have even tried cooking non-Lean Cuisine lunches - usually some chicken and roasted veggies, or a measured portion of pasta (I'm fine with it as long as I only cook one serving at a time).

I'm noticing patterns with my eating, that I am very hungry in the morning to early afternoon, but not hungry when I get to work or after. So I've been listening to my body and responding accordingly, eating most of my day's calories before heading to the office around 1 or 2 p.m., and then having a light dinner when I get home around 7:30, if I am hungry. A bigger lunch than dinner makes sense - in Chicago, I had a small lunch with an afternoon snack a few hours later, then went to the gym after work, and had a big dinner. Here, I exercise, then have a big lunch, then head to work (where I no longer keep any snacks). Listening to hunger cues and not having myself eat based on a clock has been really interesting, and I think I can safely say it's working out quite well.

Huge NSV for me: for snacks, I've had mostly fruits and vegetables, with the exception of some Girl Scout cookies I bought last weekend. I put them in sandwich bags with 1-2 servings in each and wrote the number of calories on the bag, then had some every day until they were gone. A box of Girl Scout cookies has never lasted me more than 10 minutes. These lasted several days! I'm not running out to go buy more - mostly because my craving has been satisfied and I just don't want any more right now. But also, because even though I'm going to enjoy the feeling of the victory, I also know my personal limits and don't want to get ahead of myself, especially when I am doing so well again at long last.

Non-weight wise, this was a busy week. Good, just busy. Lots of things to do for work - I am very much looking forward to spring break! I am flying out to Chicago two weeks from today, spending most of the week there, with an overnight in San Francisco on the way back to break up the traveling a bit ... and also to see more of the city since Matt and I just did a quick whirlwind tour of a lot of big sights. This time, I want to see parks, gardens, used bookstores! So this weekend I'll be taking breaks from my pile of grading to make itineraries for both cities. For Chicago, Matt and I talked about a day trip somewhere, but we're not sure just yet. His birthday is a few weeks after spring break, plus he's been losing weight too (in onederland as of yesterday! so proud of him - and he looks SO good! :] ), so I want to do something really special.

What about you? How was your week? Brag about your NSVs! Also - any suggestions for Chicago or San Francisco sights to see?

congrats on the loss! I was doing so well but February was kind of a gong show for me... now I need to get back toer. My gym membership is expired and unfortunately I can't renew it until my friend that works there gets this thing in the mail! So frustrating. I just don't like working out at home. Luckily tomorrow I've got a 6 hour frisbee tournament, which means at least 4 solid hours of cardio! Insanity.

I am still in the process of listening to my body. I have a bad habit of waiting until I'm overly hungry sometimes and that is going to have to stop. You are more and more in tune with your body these days, Mary. Such a great thing to see, and it's obviously returning the favor by treating you well with 2 great weigh-ins!